On this very day 105 years ago Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant meant to give rides and carry heavy items on Coney Island...all in the name of science! His science. He came to Coney to prove George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla's alternating current (AC) was dangerous, whereas his competing direct current was completely safe. In fact, Edison was the one who convinced New York to use the dangerous and deadly AC for their electric chair.

Edison had established direct current at the standard for electricity distribution and was living large off the patent royalties, royalties he was in no mood to lose when George Westinghouse and Nicola Tesla showed up with alternating current. more ›

MOVIE: The Brooklyn Independent Cinemas series (which takes place the first and third Monday of every month) delivers two shorts tonight. First up is Nevel is the Devil, where "a supervisor at a consumer product testing lab interrogates two suspects of a devilish prank." The second is The Last Romantic, which follows Calvin Wizzig, a poet, around New York in hopes of getting published. Watch the trailer here. 7pm // Barbes [376 9th St, Park... more ›

Earlier this week, StarChefs held its 2nd International Chef’s Congress on the top two floors of 7 World Trade Center. Open to industry professionals only, this annual event draws notable chefs from all over the world and provides the opportunity to honor its Rising Stars, an award the culinary organization gives to young professionals. A full list of this year’s winners, including Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, Chris Lee of Gilt, and Daniel Eardley of Brooklyn’s Chestnut can be found here. This year’s winners were celebrated during the Rising Stars Revue Tuesday night at The Mansion on West 28th Street, which capped off the proceedings. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An unstable building in Murray Hill; a "serious trauma" not far from Shea Stadium in Queens; a bank robbery at Avenue A and 4th Street; and at 777 6th Ave there was a barricaded EDP (emotionally disturbed person).
• Remember those chemicals found at the United Nations? It turns out that they were probably just cleaning supplies. Hopefully these aren't the same tests the organization uses for biological weapons.
• If you're shopping for your prostitutes on Craigslist, be careful. The fuzz might be setting you up for a sting as they're busting more and more people (John's and pros) who use the service.
• A tipster tells Streetsblog that Bill Clinton agrees that "cycling is good citizenship," but we're betting that Bubba was getting into his towncar/SUV as he was agreeing.
• There are at least 5 nostalgic ConEd customers who are angry with the utility today. ConEd won permission from the state yesterday to stop delivering direct current (DC) power. Looks like Nikola Tesla wins this one.
• Queens residents who were affected by storms on August 8th are getting their own FEMA flood relief center today. Hopefully the Flushing location will do a better job than some of FEMA's other work.
• What's going to happen with Brooke Astor's Briarcliff Manor retreat. The bucolic property called Holly Hill is 65 acres and has a 9,000 square foot house. Her son Anthony D. Marshall will likely inherit the house, but people are unsure what he'll do with it.
• If Mike Bloomberg became President, could he still be a majority owner of Bloomberg LP? Some experts say no due to the conflicts that Bloomberg News would cause. Mayor Bloomberg currently owns 68% of Bloomberg LP and has denied his interest in the White House several times.

THEATER: A new multimedia opera called Violet Fire centers on legendary inventor Nikola Tesla, who not only claimed over 700 patents but also inspired basically the most wicked band ever. Part of the BAM Next Wave Festival, the show conceptualizes the inner life of the man whose famous “waking hallucinations” led to great breakthroughs in electricity (alternating current, hydroelectric power), wireless broadcasting (radio transmission), robotics (remote control), and mind-blowing guitar riffs. (Ends Saturday!) - John Del Signore more ›

THEATER: Mike Daisey, the versatile, unpredictable monologuist (and onetime Gothamist interviewee), has revealed a lot about his own past and personality over the course of his years of performing and writing. Now, in the last entry of the season at Galapagos' "Evolve" series, he's going after new material -- a select array of "Great Men of Genius" other than himself. Last week he explored the life more ›

Friday // 8pm // collective:unconscious [279 church] // Free more ›

The city is no longer awash in saffron, but we promise there is still a lot to do this weekend... more ›

Maggie Dubris, Writer/Hypnotist/Ex-paramedic more ›